Young Avengers
by KayHawkGirl
Summary: The Team is being born in the Marvel universe, manly to the Avengers. How will they deal with raising superhero children? Well, some better then others, but, I'm sure it will all work out in the end... hopefully.
1. Chapter 1: The Not so Good New Year

Junior Avengers

Chapter One

The Not So Good New Years

**December 31st 2013 **

**11:19 PM**

When Steve arrived at The Avengers tower, given the title almost two years ago, he could tell by the flashing lights and blasting music that Stark had the party going full swing. Steve was almost surprised he hadn't gotten any noise complaints yet.

Shaking his head, Steve wondered what the billionaire playboy was going to do in a few more months when he had his hands full with a little, squirming baby. Tony just better be glad Pepper was the mother, he didn't think any other women could handle two Starks.

Revving his motor cycle once more, Steve rode it over to the back of the building where the garage doors were. An _Avengers Only_ sign was put up in the bullet proof windows, marking it off limits to the public. After punching in his code and letting the machine prick his thumb, the doors opened upwards allowing him to drive in and park in his reserved spot.

Turning off the engine and pulling the keys out of the slot, Steve swung his leg over to stand after placing the kickstand down.

"Hello, Master Rogers, very good seeing you again. Shall I escort you to the party?," Jarvis' voice sounded as the elevator dinged and the metal doors slid open.

"Oh...yes, thank you..Jarvis," Steve answered, placing his keys on one of the hooks mounted on the wall along with many others, most taken, before stepping into the elevator.

The ride up was awkward for the captain, all the familiarity he had with Jarvis had all but disappeared during the two years he had been on the road. Now, just the thought of a personless voice, A.I or not, watching his every move was enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

When the elevator stopped at the top floor and the doors opened, Steve started for a moment as the music that vibrated through out the tower got especially louder, making the super soldiers ears ring.

As he let his super hearing adjust to the increased of volume, Steve took in the scene in front of him. It seemed that Tony had turned the Avenger's get together into an all out press party.

Steve toyed with the idea of leaving before anyone noticed him. He had never liked parties, he didn't before the war and he certainly didn't after he was unfrozen.

Turning around to head back into the elevator, debating whether he should head to his floor to try to get some rest or go out and try to find a hotel, he was stopped when a voice to his left shouted, "Capsicle!,"

Knowing there was no escape now that he had been caught, Steve sighed before addressing the source of the voice.

"Ah...Tony, Miss Potts," he nodded to each of them.

"It's good to see you again, Mr. Rogers, and please, call me Pepper," she said, holding out her hand to shake.

Taking her hand in his, he replied, "Only if you call me Steve,"

"I think that can be arranged," Pepper answered with a warm smile.

"Is this where I should be worried about you taking my girl, Cap?," Tony jokingly interrupted, making Steve's ears turn pink and Pepper roll her eyes.

Crossing her arms, she told him, "Tony, I'm having your child, if I was going to leave you, I would have done it already," all seriousness showing on her face.

"Aw..Pep, you wound me," Tony exaggerated, a hand over his heart.

"Speaking of child, congratulations Pepper, I'm sorry I couldn't be here in person when you announced it,"

"That's completely fine," Pepper reassured him.

"Yeah, we understand, traveling around, seeing how the world's changed. You make a Facebook yet, I bet you'd get hundreds of requests, just from being Captain America,"

"Tony," Pepper said, her thumb and fore finger massaging her temples.

"What, people have gotten just as many for much more stupider stuff, trust me I know," Tony joked, but it was lost on the ex-soldier.

"No one could have hundreds of friends Tony, not even you," Steve told him, hands stuffed in his jeans pockets.

Tony sweat dropped, wondering if his friend would ever be able to recognize when he was joking. Brown eyes catching movement over Steve's shoulder, Tony said, "Uh, oh, I see eyepatch heading this way, that would be my cue to go," rapping his arm around Pepper's waist, and turning around to go back the way they came.

"It was nice to meet you again, Steve," Pepper threw over her shoulder, before they were lost in the crowd.

"Captain," Steve turned around a the sound of his title, "Director," he said, before turning his attention to the man standing beside Fury. He was aged, at least in his late eighties if not older, but he was standing straight, in perfect posture, with no assistance. The sides of his short hair was white, while the top was a mild brown. The thing that stuck out the most to Steve, though, was the patch over his right eye, mirroring that of the Director.

"Hello, I'm-,"

"Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America, yes I know," the man said, making Steve shoot a look at Fury. The man was unhelpful and only smirked at the Captain of his Avengers.

"Nicholas Fury, ex Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, don't suppose you remember me," the man said, holding out his hand, that Steve shook.

"That's quite a grip you got there, Mr...Fury," Steve said, not sure what to call the man that shared the same name as the director.

"Yes, we share the name, I think it may be becoming a family name," Mr. Fury said.

At the confused look Steve gave both of them, Director Fury decided to step in on his father's fun.

"Captain, this is my father, you actually fought with him once or twice during the war,"

'Oh, I- I'm sorry, I don't remember, there are still memories I'm putting together, but I'm sure they will come to me some day,"

"Hmm." Mr. Fury grunted, Steve couldn't tell if he was pissed about being forgotten or not. Now he knew where the Director got his poker face from.

"Well-," Steve started, but was interrupted by a high pitch scream.

**11:26 PM**

The voices kept fading in and out, as Pepper stood beside her boyfriend. Tony was currently talking to some of the few press that was allowed up here, oblivious to her inner struggle.

Bringing a hand down to her stomach, she caressed the small bump that was there. Just starting into her fourth month, it was just beginning to show enough for her to start getting stares whenever she was out in public.

Feeling a sharp pain where her hand was covering, she let out a short breath, massaging the spot hoping it would sooth whatever was happening.

"...per, Pepper, you okay?," Tony's voice brought her out of her fog.

"What?," she asked, blinking rapidly a few times

"Are you Okay, you're as pale as a ghost, Pep," Tony said bringing a hand up to her cheek, "You're burning up, why didn't you tell you weren't feeling good?," Worry shone in his eyes.

"Didn't..didn't want to ruin your party," She answered breathlessly.

"Forget the party Pep, you're health is more important, it's not just your's anymore,"

That caught Pepper's attention, but she doubled over in pain before she could say anything, "Ow...owowowow, what is happening," She asked, her face scrunched up and gritting her teeth, she felt Tony's arms around her not letting her fall to the floor.

Looking around, Tony caught sight of a red headed women, "Natasha!," he yelled, breaking up her conversation with Clint, as both looked his way.

"Pepper, what's wrong?," Natasha asked, jogging over with Clint on her heels.

"Don't you think I already asked her that, call an ambulance!," Tony shouted.

Narrowing her green eyes at him that flashed with danger, Nat turned her attention to Clint, "Call 911,"

"Pepper, where exactly is the pain?,"

Tony had no idea how the two shield agents were being so calm through all this. All his nerves were shot, and for once in his life he had no idea what to do. He didn't want to face what was happening, he was getting a family and a small chance to be normal. He didn't know what he or Pepper would do if that was ripped from them before they even got to experience it.

Pepper's shrill scream brought him back to the present and his eyes widened at what he saw.

Blood. Lot's of blood, covering the bottom of Pepper's dress. Between what he was seeing, Pepper's scream and the crowd that was slowly gathering around them, he was froze in shock.

"The ambulance is on it's way," he heard Clint say.

"Were not going to have enough time, we need to get her to a car, I'll drive her to S.H.I.E.L.D's medical center," Nat said, getting up from where she was crouched beside Pepper. "Tony, TONY!," Nat's voice once again made him come to attention, "We need to get her to the car, Now!,"

"Right, right," he said. Eyes wide, Tony scooped Pepper up bridal style and followed Natasha as she parted the sea of people that were all gawking at them and having the nerve to take pictures he was sure would end up on the front page of the paper in the morning.

All he could do was give a silent plea to the heavens that everything would be alright.

Once the three were out of the room, Steve took charge of the mess that was left behind. Looking around at all the people that had started talking all at once, he screamed over them, "OKAY, PARTY OVER, EVERY OUT," effectively catching their attention with his Captain voice, as Tony called it. Weather it was true or not, it work as people started shuffling toward the elevator that Jarvis had opened.

Running a hand through his blonde hair, Steve thought, 'I knew I should have gone to find a hotel,'

**11:39 PM**

Natasha was feeling like she just got back from a long, hard mission. Bone tired and in need of a hot shower and a warm, soft bed. Sadly that wasn't the first thing that greeted her when she arrived back at the tower. What was waiting for her was six worried and anxious faces.

In the communion living room on the third floor, was were all the Avengers, minus Thor and Tony, had gathered to wait on news of their friends. The news that was her job to deliver.

"Nat," Clint said, being the first one to see her. He got up from where he was lounged sideways in a chair, his legs dangling over one of the arm rest, and walked over to her.

Facing her, Clint placed his hand on her upper arm, and silently asked if she was okay, which she gave a slight nod to. It was one of the things she liked most about her relationship with Clint, most of the time there was no need for words, they knew each other well enough to be able to read each other's silent ques.

"Is Pepper okay?," Steve asked from where he had stopped pacing in front of the flatscreen.

"Pepper is going to be fine," Natasha told them, seeing the relief flood their faces, until Bruce asked, "What about the kid, that was a lot of blood, was there a miscarriage?,"

Taking a deep breath, Nat answered, "Yes, at least the start of one, they don't know if the child's going to make it, so Pepper and Tony are staying the night at Shield's medical,"

"My god, poor Pepper," Janet said, a hand over her mouth, as Hank put an arm around her and she laid her head on his chest.

Wasp had grown fond of Pepper since her and Ant-man had joined the Avengers back in 2012, not even a month after they defeated Loki. They had even become friends over time, with Natasha quitting the Avengers back in October, Karen didn't have many female superheroes to talk to, so Pepper became her go to girl.

"I don't know about you guys, but I don't really feel up to watching the ball drop tonight," Natasha said, turning around and heading back to the elevator with Clint following. Hearing a chorus of soft goodnights as the doors slid shut.

Natasha laid her head on Clint's bare chest, his fingers threading through her messy red hair.

"What a great start to the year, huh?," She said, looking up at him, with a sad smile.

"Well, it wasn't all bad," he smirked, moving to where she was laying on her back under him.

He gave her a quick kiss, before trailing them down to her chin, then neck.

Natasha stretched out giving him more room, grabbing both sides of his head and bringing him back up to her face when he had gotten to the top of her own bare chest.

Letting his lips meet her's again, she pulled back and smiled coyly, "Sorry, but no round two tonight,"

Giving a breathy laugh, Clint yielded, "Okay, okay," content to lay his head on her shoulder, breathing in her scent.

"Why don't you come back to the Avenger?," Clint asked after a while a silence.

Groaning, Natasha covered her eyes with the palms of her hands, "Clint, not this again,"

"Won't you just consider it, what's so bad about being part of a team for once, actually having people who care about you?,"

"Love is for children, Clint, and that's what would happen if I stayed, It would give me a weakness for my enemies to exploit,"

"But, this isn't a regular team, it's a group of superheroes, who know how defend themselves,"

"Not for long," at Clint's confused look she continued, "Let's face, most of the Avengers are going to end up finding someone, and starting families, and that's great, _for them_, but you and I can never have that, we're Shield agents, top of the line. We have done things that the other's couldn't even dream of,"

Clint sat up and wiped a hand over his face, "Clint-,"

"I get what your saying Natasha, but I don't agree with it. I think we could do it,"

"Do what?,"

"Have a family, an Avenger family, and maybe even one of our own," he told her with pleading blue eyes.

"No," the Black Widow stepping into Natasha's place, no emotion showing on her face.

"Nat," Clint brought a hand up to reach for her, only for her to sit up, bringing the light brown comforter around her. Letting her feet touch the cold wooden floor she stood up, picking up her strapless black bra and underwear from where they were thrown down at the foot of the bed. Putting them on underneath the covers, she said, "No, Clint, I will not risk the lives of our friends, let alone an innocent one of a child, just because you want the perfect, white picket fence family,"

Throwing the covers off her she grabbed her red, strapless dress and black shawl. Putting them on, she grabbed her black high heels and headed for the door.

"Nat, where are you going?," Clint asked.

"To my room, and you won't have to worry about me any more, I'll be gone before morning," Slamming the door behind her, she left Clint alone in the bedroom that had stopped being just his for months.

"You idiot," Clint said to himself, before laying back down, knowing sleep would evade him this night.

Meanwhile, the rest of New York is watching as the ball drops, 5...4..3..2..1 _Happy New Year_.

**Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year, even if it is a couple days late, hope your New Years Eve was better than The Avengers'. Poor Guys XD**

**This is a rewrite of my first story, Junior Avengers, and as you can, hopefully, tell, things are going to be different. I've added some more characters from Marvel and the parents of some members the Team have changed. But, you'll just have to wait to find that out.**

**The Winter Soldier and any other Marvel movies that are coming out after that haven't happened yet.**


	2. Chapter 2: How to save a Life

Junior Avengers

Chapter Two

How to Save a Life

**February 10th 2014**

**6:02 am**

**England- Jane's One Bedroom Apartment**

"Come on, Jimmy, you can do it, just stick it in your mouth and suck!," Jane exasperated. Heaving a heavy sigh as she took the bottle away from her two month old son's mouth, and sat it down on the counter. "You wake me up at the crack of dawn, crying, and now you won't even eat, what am I going to do with you," Jane said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, the strands of her brown hair that she had pulled up into a messy ponytail, lightly hitting her checks.

Deciding to give up for the moment, she took her place on the stool, to finish her own breakfast of cereal. It definitely wasn't the breakfast of champions, but with being a new single mom who had no idea how to care for a baby, it was the best she could do at the moment.

The last couple of years had been very hazy to Jane, almost like she wasn't completely all here. There was nothing physically wrong with her, during the first year she had visited numerous doctors, all who gave her a clean bill of health.

Letting go of her spoon into her empty bowl with a clank, Jane stood up. One hand full of baby and the other her dishes, she sat her bowl and glass in the sink, resolving to wash them later.

"Okay, Jimmy, are you going to-," Jane's question to her son was cut off by the doorbell.

As Jane made her way to the door there was a series of knocks and rings to greet her.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!," Jane raised her voice to be heard as she opened the door, only to have a black blur speed past her and her son disappearing from her arms.

"Aw, there's my cute little godson," a very familiar feminine voice gushed from behind Jane as she closed the door and turned around.

"Nice to see you to, Darcy," she said sarcastically, crossing her arms and leaning against the door.

A sheepish smile spreading across the younger girls face, with a nervous laugh she replied, "Sorry, but can you blame me. First you have this adorable little guy," wiggling her fingers in the baby's face, making Jimmy follow them with his brown eyes, "Name me godmother, then move all the way out here to England with only a louse phone call to tell me,"

Letting out a deep sigh, Jane moved away from the door and back towards the kitchen, "Well, if you're so keen on spending time with him, why don't you try to finish feeding him,"

Following behind her former employer, Darcy exclaimed, "Are you kidding, I'd love to!,"

"Yeah, you say that now," Jane told her, picking up the bottle from the counter and handing it to Darcy, who had taken her seat on the stool.

"Knock yourself out, I need to finish getting ready," Jane said, heading toward her bedroom.

Jane could literally feel the stress melting off her once she was done taking a warm shower, and had a clean, fresh pair of clothes on.

She made her way back toward the kitchen, feeling the need to see how Darcy was doing with her son, only to find them in the living room.

"Hey, baby momma," Darcy said when she was Jane, bringing her head up from where she was laying on the couch. She had her knees up, using them as a support so Jimmy could sit on her stomach, "I don't know what the big fuss was, he drank that bottle right up, didn't even take ten minutes,"

Leaning over the back of the couch, Jane raised an eyebrow at her son, "You little traitor," she told him, which he only gurgled happily at.

Smoothing down his blonde hair, Jane let out a breath and, with a small smile, plopped down in the recliner, "As long as he's feed, I guess it doesn't matter,"

"You look really worn out," Darcy noted, sympathy leaking into her voice.

"Yeah, well, it comes with the job," Jane answered, pulling the lever to lean back.

"You know, if you wanted to get out for a few hours of baby free time, I can totally watch him,"

"Thank, but that's all right, besides I don't think I have the energy to do even that,"

"Oh, come on, Jane," Darcy said, sitting up, bringing Jimmy with her to cradle him in her arms, "You've been cooped up in this apartment all month,"

Jane shrugged and answered, "I've had a lot of work to do, with both Jimmy and my research,"

"That's fine, but it is okay to take a break once in a while, put some lady clothes on and go out and meet someone,"

"Last time I took your advise to go out and meet someone, I ended up pregnant,"

"Hey, that's not my fault! I said to go out with the guy, not sleep with him. Though you could of given him a chance, he's a pretty decent guy, he even offered to marry you when he found out he knocked you up,"

"Oh, please, don't say knocked up, and I have my reasons for not wanting to date him,"

Giving her an unbelieving look, Darcy said, "You mean _a _reason. He's been gone for almost two years, Jane, noone has heard or seen him, not even the Avengers. I think if he was going to come back he would have done so already,"

"You don't know that," Jane insisted, sitting up, "He's an Asgardian, time flows differently for him," standing up she stormed off toward the kitchen.

Darcy, too, stood up, Jimmy in her arms, as she followed her friend, not ready to give up, "So what, are you just going to keep waiting for him? Letting the rest of your life pass by as he sits up there on his pretty little throne?,"

Jane grips the sink and flinches when Darcy comment reaches her. It wasn't just the harshness of her words, but the truth that was in them. It was something that often kept her awake at night. There was no guarantee that Thor would came back in her or even her son's life time. The scientist in her, the part that relies in logic, knows she should move on, perhaps give Keith a chance, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. It made her feel like a thirteen year old girl again, one who is hung up on her first crush.

Jane's eyes dropped to the tiled floor and, with her hair framing her face, she asked in a small voice, "Is it so wrong that I love him?,"

Eye's softening, Darcy took in a deep breath to calm herself and said, "Of course not, I'm just worried. I never see you talking or hanging out with anyone but me and Eric, well, not so much Eric anymore since he went, you know, woo-ho," Darcy whistled the end, bring her finger to her temple and moving it in a circle, making Jane crack a small smile, "In all seriousness, it's fine that you love him, I just don't want you to tune the world out while you wait for him,"

Looking up at the girl who had quickly become her best friend ever since a Norse god had dropped into her life and left just as fast and said, "I understand," taking Jimmy into her arms and wrapping her free one around Darcy, "Thank you,"

Hugging back, the ex-intern asked, "For what? Yelling at you?,"

Chuckling and pulling back, Jane answered, "No, for caring and still being by my side after about two years of mopping,"

"Ah, hey, what are friends for?,"

Jane wiped away a few stray tears and asked, "Surely you didn't come over here just to lecture me, is something wrong?,"

"Oh, yeah," Darcy's eyes lit up, the argument before forgotten, "You know all that scientific equipment you don't look at anymore?," she asked, pulling a black box like contraption with an antenna from her jacket pocket and passing it to Jane, "You might want to start looking again,"

**February 10th 2014**

**5:00 pm**

"Are you sure you don't want us to take you to the hospital, or at least a doctor?," Jane asked, dabbing a cut on Thor's cheek.

'I'm positive Jane, besides, after today, I'm sure your healers have their hands full," Thro reassured her.

"Okay, though they could probably do this much quicker," she said, placing a bandage over the cut, "And gentler," she added when she felt him flinch slightly.

"Your doing just fine, Jane," he said, taking her hand that was hovering over his injury.

When she felt his thumb rub the middle of her palm, her brown eyes meet with deep blue.

Jane felt her breath hitch as Thor got closer, until she could feel his breath on her lips. She was in the process of meeting him halfway when the door to her bedroom flew open and a piercing cry greeted her ears.

"Oh, I did it again, didn't I? Sorry," Darcy apologized.

"It's fine Darcy, what's wrong?," Jane asked, after clearing her throat. She stood up from the bed and made her way over to the dark haired girl.

"Um…..Jimmy," Darcy answered, pointing to the upset baby in her arms, "He won't stop crying, I've tried everything,"

"What's wrong, sweetie?," Jane poised her question to her son, taking him into her arms.

The wails that had long since given Darcy a pounding headache, ceased to exist.

Looking down into watery brown eyes, Jane smiled and said, "I guess he just missed his mother,"

"Well, since she has been traveling to half of the nine realms since this morning, I'd say so," Darcy joked.

A clearing of a throat made both girls turn to the god of thunder, as he said, "I apologize ladies, I'm afraid I'm not acquainted with young Jimmy,"

"Oh, right," Jane said uneasily, shooting a glance at Darcy who just shrugged her shoulders, "Thor," she started, looking back to the man she loved, "This is my son, James Kincaid, but we all call him Jimmy,"

"Oh," he said, with a smile, taking a step forward to greet Jimmy, before realization overcame him, "Pardon me?,"

**February 18th 2014**

**6:20 pm**

**Stark Tower**

"There you go Cap, easy," Steve heard a voice say and felt a hand on his shoulder.

He turned his head slowly, so as not to make the world tip any more than it already was, and saw the face of his new friend.

"Sam?," he asked.

"Yeah, it's me Cap, don't worry, we're almost there," Sam answered him.

"There?," Steve asked, confused.

"Yeah, you know, Stark tower, the place you wanted me to drive you to,"

"Why?,"

"I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me, though I figured it had something to do with Ironman being a teammate of yours,"

"...Ironman...Stark….Avengers, right," Steve put together.

"Man, that Winter Solider did a number on you, didn't he?,"

While Steve was thinking up an answer, he heard a ding and a robotic voice say, "Here you are Master Rogers, and Master Roger's friend,"

"Man, that is so cool," Sam said, looking around the elevator, before helping Steve out into the hallway.

"While Master Stark is down in his lab, the others can be located in the dining room," Jarvis informed them.

"Thank you, disembodied voice," Sam said, "So, Cap, don't suppose you know where the dining room is, do you?," he asked. When he go no answer besides Steve scratching the back of his head, blue eyes squinted, he added, "Yeah, didn't think so,"

Not wanting to talk to the voice again, Sam resorted to listening for noise and following it.

When he got to the opening, true to what the voice said, there was no Stark present. There was, however, a giant of a man who looked like he could play play professional football, Sam knew him to be Thor. Beside Thor was a brown haired woman holding a baby, across from them was a skinny man with glasses and curly hair, and beside him at the end was an older man then the rest and a woman with a pixie cut.

Only knowing one out of five people, minus the baby, in the room did nothing to still his nerves that were still fried from the past battle, it also didn't help that all their, eyes were on him.

The tenseness in the air could be cut with a knife.

"Um, hello," Sam said.

Like clockwork, Thor shot up, followed by the pixie woman, the chair and table scuttling away from the Asgardian.

Sam gulped when narrowed blue eyes meet his. Now, Thor was in civilian clothes and his hammer was nowhere to be seen, but Sam would rather avoid a man of Thor's stature if at all possible, plus there was the unidentified variable of what the woman was capable of.

"Whoa, whoa, big guy, calm down, I'm not the enemy," Sam tried to reassure the Norse god.

Sam wasn't an idiot, he knew this looked bad. He was a stranger, who walked into a high security tower, with their captain who was clearly out of it.

"If this is true, stranger, than state your name and what has happened to the Captain," Thor demanded

"Now let's just all calm down," the man with glasses said, standing from his seat.

"Please, Sam said to them, "I'm not the bad guy, I'm a friend of Steve's, he's just been through a rough battle and is still recovering. Does he have a room somewhere, so he can lay down?,"

"Yes, if you'll follow me, I can take you to his floor,"the glasses man told him, heading around and motioning for him to follow.

"His own floor," Sam whispered, amazed as he was lead back toward the elevator.

Sam didn't know how to break the ice with the nice man, and he didn't seem inclined to speak up either. The elevator stopped half way up Stark tower and opened up to one of the largest living room he had ever seen.

"Here, I do believe his room is this way," glasses man said, heading across the room, "The layout is pretty much the same on every residential floor, the only difference if how the owner decorates it,"

Having the door held open for him, Sam stepped into the room and settled Steve down on the bed, covering him with the white comforter, before sitting the bag down that held his costume and shield.

"Are you sure this is his room?," Sam asked looking around at the bland space. There was no personal affects that he could see, just a bed, a dresser up against the wall and a nightstand.

"Yes, though he doesn't stay here that often, it is to my understanding that he has, or had, an apartment down in Washington," glasses answered walking out of the room, "I'm Banner, by the way, Bruce Banner," he added holding out his hand.

"Sam Wilson," he said, shaking the man's hand.

"So, your, ah, a friend of Steve's?," Bruce asked.

"Yes, a relatively new friend, but a friend none the less,"

"And you helped out in the Washington fight?," Bruce asked and after getting a nod he added, "Well then, you have my thanks, we didn't even know about it until we saw it on the news and then afterwards we couldn't get ahold of anyone,"

"Since what happened, I'm not surprised S.H.I.E.L.D didn't contact you," Sam answered as they both made their way back to the elevator to give Steve some peace and quiet to recover.

**March 2nd 2014**

**10:32 am**

**Hell's Kitchen**

Natasha stood in front of the full body mirror that she had to install in the apartment that she had been staying in. She had the flaps of her jeans clenched in her fist and was glaring down at them in disdain.

"Believe me yet?," a male voice asked from behind her.

She looked back up in the mirror at the man's reflection leaning against the doorway.

"No, I've just gained a few pounds, looks like it about time to start that new training regime," she told him, shimming out of her pants and walking over to the closet to grab a new pair.

"Nat, I can hear, been hearing it for weeks now, and unless your heartbeat is usually as fast as a hummingbird I do believe it's-,"

"Stop," Natasha interrupted, spinning around to face him, "Don't you dare say it Matt, I don't want to hear it, besides I've already told you, it's not possible,"

"Things happen in operation rooms, trust me, I know I'm a lawyer, we get those cases all the time. We may never know what happened after you went under for the 'graduation ceremony' in the red room, but obviously something went wrong, because your preg-,"

"Don't say that word," the spy stressed.

"Fine, I figured you wouldn't take my word for it, so I went out and bought these," Matt said, holding up a plastic bag.

Pulling on her new pair of jeans, she made her way over to him and took the bag to look inside it. What greeted her was multiple boxes of pregnancy test.

"I don't know much about it, so I just got as many as I could, pretty sure the sales lady gave me a strange look though,"

"Surely not, what could be so strange about a blind guy buying, how manys in here, five, six pregnancy test?," she said sarcastically.

He gave her a smile and said, "Please, do take at least one and if it's negative I'll let it go, but if it's positive…," he let the statement hang in the air.

"Fine," she snapped, closing the bag, "but when they turn out negative, and they will, there won't be another word about it, clear?,"

"As crystal," he told her, "but you should know," he called after her, "my hearing has never been failed me before,"

Stopping at the doorway to the bathroom, she looked back at him, "There's a first time for everything," she told him, before closing the door.

Natasha stared down at the different brands of test lain out on the counter in front of her. She knew Matt was still outside the door, waiting, but she couldn't bring herself to face him. She had been locked in the bathroom for over thirty minutes, having taken test after test after all but one turned out positive.

A knock on the door caught her attention, "Natasha, you okay?," Matt's voice reached her ears, when he received no reply he added, "Come on, Nat, just let me in and we'll talk about the results,"

There was no movement on either side of the door for a few seconds, before Matt heard an unlocking sound. He grabbed the knob and opened the door, but didn't dare step into the master assassin's space.

"Can I come in?," he asked, when he received a nod and a soft "yes," he stepped up beside her.

He glanced down, seeing the shapes of the test, but not the results he turned to look at her, but she had turned her head away.

"What do they say?,"

"...They're all positive, except for the one on the end," she answered, clearing her throat.

"Hm, I guess it'd be too much wishful thinking to say that it could be mine, huh?," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

She turned troubled green eyes to look at him, "No, it would be to early, if it was yours, even you wouldn't know about it yet,"

"Do you know what you're going to do?,"

"The only thing I can do," she answered with determination.

His uncertain smile turning into a frown, he said, "Please, tell me you're not talking about what I think your talking about,"

Bright green eyes blazing she asked, "What other choice is there?,"

"Well I don't know, how about keeping it and raising it to be a respectable human being?,"

"That's not an option, not for me anyway,"

"Nat-,"

"This body wasn't made to house life, Matt, it should've never happened,"

"But, it did happen, you can carry a child Nat, be it's mother,"

"Can and should are two different things, with both my lifestyle and it's father's there's no way it could grow up happy," She told him, looking out the window with her hand placed on her stomach.

"You don't know that," he pleaded.

Eyes turning cold she replied, "I do," before storming out of the bathroom.

Back in the bedroom she grabbed her bag and slipped on her shoes.

"Where are you going?," Matt asked defeatedly.

"You know where," she answered, heading towards the front door.

"Nat, can't you just think about this some more?,"

"I'm done thinking, the more time I waste, the more this...thing grows," she said with a pained face.

"Child, Nat, it's a child, your child,"

"I don't have a child," was the last thing she said before heading out the door.

"Ms. Rushman, the doctor's ready for you," an overly cheery voice said.

Natasha put the magazine she had been flipping through back on the table before standing up and making her way to the nurse.

After almost an hour of waiting her alias had finally been called, 'How I miss the personal doctors of S.H.I.E.L.D,' she thought, but pushed it to the back of her mind, S.h.i.e.l.d was gone now, there was no use dwelling on something that no longer existed.

After checking her weight and height and making her take a short eye exam she was led into a room, "The doctor will be with you in a moment," was all the nurse said before leaving her alone.

Letting out a deep sigh, Natasha made herself comfortable on the bench, the paper covering it crinkling as she sat down. Crossing her arms and arms she leaned back against the wall, the perfect picture of calm on the outside. On the inside, though, her thoughts swam with uncertainty.

'Was this really what she should be doing?,' at Matt's it was obvious, she wasn't fit to be a mother, she could barely keep herself alive on the best of days. She would ruin the kid.

'What about Clint?,' Clint, she could see Clint being a father, playing with them, teaching them how to use a bow and arrow, trying to shoot their daughter's first boyfriend.

The small smile that had crept onto her face quickly disappeared, what was she thinking, she was here to get an abortion, there wasn't going to be any their daughter, or even their son, she was ending this nightmare today.

She looks around the room for something to distract herself, but all she finds is different posters littering the walls. There was a range of them, for contraceptives, to managing your health while pregnant to information on the baby at different weeks.

As she's reading them, she comes across one that made her pause. It's marked at the top in bold, white letters, 10 Weeks Pregnant: What to Expect and How Your Baby's Growing.

She tried to look away, but the picture that it showed wouldn't let her. The baby that was drawn was still curled into itself like the posters before it, but it had more of a human shape, just with a stubby body and a big head that could rival Tony's.

Green eyes sliding over the text she scanned through all the facts on how your body was changing, it was one sentence that she zoned in on and what she read made her head spin.

Could it be true? The thing inside her, the thing she hadn't even identified as a child yet, it already had a brain or the start of one? Not to mention toes and fingernails.

If it hadn't been for the door opening and the doctor walking in, Natasha feared she may have lost consciousness. As it was she was able to clear her head with the help of the doctor's voice.

"Hello, Ms. Rushman, I'm Dr. Marshall,"

"Hello,"

Giving a small smile, Marshall looked down at the paper she had sat on the desk, "It say here, you put down that you are right at the end of your ninth week, but this is your first visit,"

"Yeah, as far as I can tell I conceived on New Year's Eve..," Natasha trailed off, when she saw the doctor was still looking at the paper and not her.

"Okay, well let's hook you up, and, since this is your first time here, we'll just make sure there is a baby in there," Dr. Marshall explained, getting up and pulling a machine over to Natasha.

Clenching her teeth, Natasha said, "I assure you, I'm pregnant, I even took six test,"

"Eh, those test are spotty at best, it's always good just to make sure, so if you'll lay down and left your shirt up,"

Retain and deep sigh, Natasha did as she was told, wanting this to be over and done with as quickly as possible.

She didn't look at the screen, not even when the doctor pointed out where the baby was before continuing to talk like her patient was listening.

Natasha was brought back to earth by a startling sound, it was strange and didn't seem like it belonged in a doctor's office. it reminded her of the movie Spirit, that Clint had made her watch one night when he learnt she had never watched it. The sound was like a thunder of galloping horses, much like the ones from the beginning of the film.

She scanned the room, searching for the sound or maybe a stray herd, but all she found was the doctor and the monitor.

"Doesn't it sound amazing?," Dr. Marshall asked.

"What? What is it?," Natasha asked instead of answering.

"Why, it's the baby's heartbeat, silly,"

Natasha's whole world froze at the doctor's words, that little thing that was shown on the poster, that was inside of her, had a heartbeat? How was that possible, she could probably balance the baby on the tip of her finger, it was so small.

Natasha could barely hear the doctor's words through the fog covering her mind, "...it say here...abortion….you could..Ms. Rushman? Ms. Rushman!," As Natasha was called back by the doctor, she drew in a deep breath she wasn't even aware she was holding.

"Ms. Rushman, are you alright, you went as pale as a ghost- Ms. Rushman!," the doctor exclaimed as her patient rushed out of the room.

No one stopped her as she made her way out of the building and into the parking lot. Once she was there was took in a deep breath of fresh air and tried to calm her frantic beating heart.

She didn't know what had come over her all she knew was that she had to get out of that building.

She placed a shaking hand over her abdomen as she made the most important decision of her life.

She knows that she is the last person that should ever be a mother, she didn't have one maternal bone in her body, but hearing that heartbeat made her want to protect it, and even if it meant it was the last thing she ever did she would never let it go silent.

**March 4th 2014**

**Cross Technological Enterprises**

We are very happy to have you as our new head of security, Mr. Barton," Jorge said.

"It's a pleasure to be here sir," Clint replied. 'Maybe this will be what keeps me distracted from a certain red head,' he thought.

"Sir, you have a Mister Wayne, on line one," a female voice said as the two approached the front desk.

"Thank you, Barbara, and while I'm here I'd like you to meet our new head of security, Mr. Clint Barton" Jorge told the blonde.

Standing up with a smile on her face she held out her hand and said, " It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Barton, I'm Barbara Morse, but you can just call me Bobbi,"

**So, that is Thor: The Dark World and the Winter Soldier out of the way. I'm not doing the whole story with Cross Tech, I haven't even read it, I just needed a way for Clint and Barbara to meet and it seemed like the easiest. We have two kids, three if you count Jimmy who is Jane's son in the comics that I just threw in there, I'm sure you can guess who Natasha's child is, though I'm curious to know if you can figure out who Sif's is.**

***Update* 5/5/16**

**So, I went back and decided to change a few things. Mainly Sif is no longer pregnant, as the child I was going to give her, I decided I wanted her to have a different parentage.**


	3. Chapter 3: Two and a Half Spiders

Junior Avengers

Chapter Three

Two and A Half Spiders

**April 1st 2014**

**Forest Hill, Queens, New York**

A redheaded woman let trained piercing green eyes gaze over the neighborhood.

It wasn't a special neighborhood in the least. Every house, lawn, and car looked the same. It was the complete opposite of the tower or Hell's kitchen, which was exactly what she was looking for. The neighborhood should be plain enough that neither the Avengers nor her multiple enemies should be able to find her.

A part of her still couldn't believe she was going through with the pregnancy. The master assassin part of her kept reminding her that it wasn't to late to go through with an abortion. To get rid of the problem before it became one.

Then there was another, smaller part, that she never knew she had. It gripped and pulled at her cold heart every time the thought of abortion came up. She had come to the conclusion that it was that small part that had given her the unwanted panic attack back at the clinic.

She was still wary of this new side of her and wasn't sure what to think of it, so like most of her problems that she couldn't punch into submission she put it to the back of her mind and pretended it didn't exist.

"Careful with that!," she ordered after a mover harshly juggled one of her boxes, "I swear if you want something done right you have to do it yourself,"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, this moving company is just incompetent is all," a voice said from behind her.

Natasha knew someone had been approaching her, hearing the soft crunch of the grass as two set of feet walked closer to where she stood.

Turning to the source of the interruption she was meet with an elderly woman with a young man slightly behind her.

"I would know, that's the same company that my husband hired when we moved in," the old lady continued.

"Really?," Nat asked, "And they still haven't gotten any better?,"

"Depends on how you define better, at least they haven't broken anything of yours yet. May Parker," she answered, before introducing herself, holding out a wrinkled hand.

"Natalia Rushman," Natasha said, shaking her hand as her eyes flicked over to the boy.

"This is my nephew, Peter," May said.

"Hi," he said with an awkward air around him, also holding out his hand.

"Pleasure," Nat answered, taking his hand as she eyed him behind her sunglasses.

There was something about Peter that made him different. It wasn't that awkward teen difference either, but one of someone who has seen and done things well above his age. It was what she looked for when she meet another agent. It told whether they were cut out for the field or office work. She would definitely have to keep an eye on him incase he became a threat.

"So, what brings a girl like you to this old neighborhood?," May asked.

Sliding her sunglasses back to rest on top of her head, she answered, "I..just recently got some life changing news, and the place I was living in wasn't going to be...safe enough,"

Peter look confused, but May's eyes sparkled with knowing and delight.

"How wonderful, it will be nice to have a little one around again, all the ones in this neighborhood have grown into teenagers and young adults,"

"Little one?," Peter asked, bewildered, "Wait..Your pregnant?," brown eyes glued to her stomach.

Even though her black jacket was unbuttoned she was in her third month and just starting to show so it was still had to tell.

"Peter," his aunt scolded him, making the teen blush and look at the ground.

"If you need help with anything, don't hesitate to ask, I'll send Peter right over,"

"You do remember I still have school in the morning, right?," Peter asked, sarcastically.

"Oh, like you don't still awake till the a.m anyway. I'm a light sleeper, I can hear you up,"

Peter turned away, choosing not to comment.

"Are you planning on unpacking today?," May inquired.

"No, it's been a long day, I think I'm just going to put that off till tomorrow,"

"Well, you be sure to come and tell us when you do,"

"That's really not necessary," Nat tried to dissuade the old woman.

"Nonsense, you're a pregnant woman with no father in sight, I'm not judging," May answered, holding up her hands, "But, your going to need help, weather you know it yet it not,"

Seeing the woman wasn't going to back down and knowing when to pick her battles, Natasha gave a slight nod.

As May smiled, Natasha wondered if this was what it was like to have a grandmother around.

"Hey, aunt May, I've got to meet Gwen at her work, I'm going to be late," Peter said, looking at his watch.

"Alright, be safe, and have a nice date," May teased, giving her blushing nephew a hug.

Clearing his throat, he answered, "Yeah...It was nice meeting you Miss. Rushman,"

At her nod he left the way he came.

"I know how crazy moving into a new place can be, so I'll leave you alone to get settled in," May said, turning to leave.

"Right, thanks," Nat told her.

"Though don't forget my offer, because I won't," she threw over her shoulder.

Natasha raised an eyebrow, amused by the old woman's words. Maybe this neighborhood won't be as boring as she originally thought.

**April 5th 2014**

"A little bit to the left...Down a little..Now a little to the righ-,"

"Your enjoying this, aren't you," a teenage voice cut Natasha off.

Dark red lips pulling into a smirk she answered, "Where would you get an idea like that?,"

"Oh you know moving around a flat screen left and right for the past half hour will give you those thoughts," Peter said, more thankful than ever that he had super spider strengths of his arms would be jelly by now.

"Think of it as strength training, you need some muscle if your going to be fighting bad guys or they will break you like a twig," Nat told him crossing her arms over her chest.

"You know, I'm starting to regret making that deal with you,"

"You can always back, Amazing Spider man good enough for a rookie like you, but it will never get you to Avenger level,"

"I know, I know, we already went over that a few days ago- is this good?," Peter finished with a question, positioning the t.v above the fireplace on the left wall of the Black Widow's new living room.

"Mmmm," Nat pondered green eyes narrowed and head cocked to the side, analyzing the new position of he flat screen.

"Please, Nat," Peter pleaded.

"All right, all right, that's fine," She waved off.

"Thank you," Peter sighed, using his webbing to grab onto the mantel that would hold up the t.v with one hand, while precariously balancing the flat screen with his other. Once the mantel was in hand, he wasted no time screwing it onto the wall, holding the television in place.

"There, and that's the last of it," Peter sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow, admiring the living room that they had spent the entire morning setting up.

"It will work for the months I'm here," Natasha nodded.

An eyebrow raised Peter asked, "Your not going to stay? I thought that was why you moved here, to raise the kid in safety,"

Shaking her head, Nat replied, " No, I just needed a safe place to stay until I give birth, than the kid will be raised by it's father,"

"Oh...well, guess I'll have to try extra hard to learn everything I can while your still here,"

"Yes, that reminds me, now that my house is in order, it's time for the real training to start," She told him with a vindictive smile and a gleam in her eyes.

Peter didn't need his spider sense to know that what she had planned for him was going to leave him with lots of bruises and broken bones. If only he had been more stealthy coming back home from a night of crime fighting a few days ago.

_**April 3**__**rd**__** 2014**_

_It was the early hours of the morning when Peter swung down beside the open window leading to his bedroom, still fully clothed in his torn Spiderman suit. It was a stupid rookie mistake, but seeing as he had just went toe to toe with the Sinister Six _again _for the third time this week only to have is ass handed to him _again_ and he had to be up for school in about an hour and a half he found he couldn't care less._

_That was until a voice being cleared from the shadows made him jump a mile high.._

_'Uh hello, spider sense, you gone to sleep on me?," Peter thought, swinging around to face the unknown person in a crouched battle stance._

"_Well, well what do we have here?," a similar female voice spoke._

_As Peter was trying to place a face to the voice, the woman stepped out into the dim light that the full moon gave. Red hair was the first thing to be noticed, followed closely by bright green eyes that shown in the moonlight, and third was a tight black body suit that zipped down the front just enough to show off the right amount of cleavage to be considered distracting. _

_Peter was sudden;y glad he was still wearing his mask, for how hot his face felt it must look like a bright red tomato upon the realization that he was looking at his new neighbor in the full out Black Widow get up._

_Mentally face palming he thought 'How stupid am I not to have seen who she was right form the start?' He couldn't even use the excuse of not knowing what the Black Widow would look like in civilian clothes since she was on national television not that long ago. _

"_Uh..Black Widow...What brings you to the neighborhood?," He asked with a nervous edge, this was the famous master spy and assassin that use to be a top level agent when S.H.I.E.L.D was still operating. _

_The knowing smirk that had formed fell away, her expression becoming hard and impassive. _

"_Why don't we cut the small talk, Peter," Black Widow started and he felt himself flinch at the mention of his name._

_His mouth suddenly feeling dry, Peter struggled to ask, "Ho-How-,"_

"_How did I figure out your identity? It wasn't hard kid, you aren't exactly the most subtle with your comings and goings. Your lucky everyone in this neighborhood goes to bed by eight,"_

_Speechless Peter could do nothing as Natasha continue, "That brings me to the point of why I'm here, I could care less about you being Spiderman, but your sloppiness could led an enemy to this very spot. Not only would that endanger everyone in a five mile radius, but also my unborn child and that's something I can't just let that go," _

_The edge that had crept into her voice by the end had Peter trying to swallow a rock that seemed to have gotten lodged in his throat, "I-I'll be sure to be more careful,"_

"_See that you do, or you'll find out just how easy it is for someone to disappear," The Widow answered, turning to leave._

_He should have left it at that, crawled up his window and got ready for bed so he could get some rest for school tomorrow, instead his mouth ran faster than his brain, as usual, and he blurted out, "Why don't you teach me?,"_

_His eyes went wide behind his mask not believing what had just come out of his mouth as the master assassin froze._

_She looked back at him like she was seeing a different person then the one she had been talking to a moment before and turned to face him._

"_Like you'd be able to handle my training," she dismissed._

"_Maybe I can, maybe I can't, won't never know until I get a chance to try,"_

_Not convinced Natasha just raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at him._

"_Look, your not going to be able to go out and fight for a while, so why don't you take me under your wing? In exchange, I can go up against your baddies until you can start crime fighting again," Peter tried to persuade her._

_As she pursed her lips, Peter knew she could see the logic behind his reasoning._

_After a moment she asked, "Why is it that you became Spiderman, Peter? Your a straight A high school student who is just starting life, you could do anything, so why crime fighting?,"_

_Struck by the unexpected question Peter stood there for a moment, he knew it would be better to tell her the truth, she would know if he was lying and he didn't want to find out what happens to people who lie to the Black Widow._

"_My uncle...he was killed when a criminal tried to steal his car...it was my fault," he was able to get out._

"_How exactly was that your fault? This was before you were Spiderman, right?," she asked._

"_Yes, but...that-that scumbag, I let him go when he stole from a store I was in, all because I was mad at the owner, if I had done something, called the cops, anything my uncle would still be alive. I understood, then, what my uncle was all ways telling me, 'With great power comes great responsibility,' I have these powers, so I have to use them to make a difference," Peter finished, refusing to look the older hero in the eyes._

_It was silent for a few seconds, as Natasha scrutinizes him, "The people call you the Amazing Spiderman, yes?,"_

_Peter nodded, wondering where she was going with this._

"_Then it will be my goal, to make you The Ultimate Spiderman, a hero worthy of being Avenger level,"_

"_Seriously?," He asked, not believing his ears._

"_You heard me, you convinced me, though you may soon come to regret that, be at my house right after school and we'll start on your training," she said as she turned to leave._

"_I will!," Peter said after her, ignoring the part about him regretting it._

_Once she was covered by shadows, Peter turned and crawled through the window, dropping down silently into his room. Once ready for bed, he flopped down, not bothered that he would have to wake up for school in an hour. He was to excited to being getting some real training for a change, that he dozed off dreaming about taking down invading aliens as part of the Avenger team completely unaware of the world of hurt if had just got himself into._

Peter was very aware of that fact now, laying on the floor of Natasha's training room where he had just been thrown. He wasn't sure what hurt more, his body or his pride from being beaten by a pregnant woman for the fifth time in a row.

"Get up Peter, we're going to keep drilling until you learn how to block that move," Natasha said, standing over him in a red tank top and gray sweat pants.

"Five minute break?," Peter asked hopefully.

"There are no five minute breaks in a real fight, the amount of time it's taking you to get up I could have killed you three times over," she said, holding out a hand and haling up her new student.

"All right again," She said, getting into a fighting stance.

Before Peter could do the same, a bell chimed from the first floor below them.

"You expecting company?," Peter asked.

"No," Nat answered with narrowed eyes.

"Apparently your guest doesn't know that," Peter said, as the door bell continued to ring throughout the house.

"Keep practicing, I'll be back in a moment," she ordered heading out of the room, "And no breaks," she called out behind her, smirking when she heard the boy's groans.

As she silently crept down the stairs her mind ran wild on who could be at her door. It couldn't be one of her enemies, none of them would take the time to ring her doorbell, if they found out where she lived they would just go ahead and blow up her's and possible every other house on the block to be through. She had a fleeting thought that it might be the Avengers, but dismissed it just as quickly. She had covered her trail to well, there was no way they would have been able to find her, not this quickly.

Once at her front door she looked through the peep hole and cursed in her head. She rested her forehead against the polished wood, fruitlessly hopping he would get the hint and go away.

"I know your there Natasha, open up before I have to break in," his deep voice broke the silence.

Knowing she wasn't going to win this battle, Nat gave a deep sigh and opened the door.

Standing there on her porch, fitting in as much as a cheerleader on a battle field, with his black jacket and shades was Nick Fury.

"What are you doing here, Fury?," she asked, arms crossed, leaning against the doorway.

"Now I thought my top agent would show more respect than that," he grumbled.

"S.H.I.E.L.D's gone, I'm not your top agent anymore,"

"You never stop truly being an agent, no matter what the situation, and I know you know that," he said, looking at her from above his shades.

Snorting she said, "If it's a mission your here for, you'll have to go find Barton, I'm currently taking a leave of absence,"

"I've noticed, it's the reason I tracked you down, once I saw the Black Widow wasn't doing her job," Fury didn't stop even when he saw Natasha tense, her nails digging into her arm, "and that the Avengers had no idea where she was, I decided to see what the problem was myself, though now I understand your 'leave of absence'," he finished with a pointed look to her stomach where her form fitting tank top did nothing to hide the slight swell there.

"So now you know, and I would ask you to keep it to yourself," she said, in a voice that oozed danger.

The ex-director of S.H.I.E.L.D let it roll of his shoulders as he asked, "I'd assume I'd be correct in assuming it's Barton's?,"

"Yes," she grounded out through clenched teeth.

"Your not going to tell him, are you?,"

"I'm giving him full custody when the kid is born, but until, no, this whole thing is staying on the down low,"

Heaving a sigh, and feeling much older than he was, Fury said, "I'm not going to pretend I agree with your decision, but it is yours to make, I'll be sure to keep the others off your trail," he said turning to leave at her nod, "Oh, though what are you going to do about your Black Widow duties? Can't just let those criminals run lose,"

"Don't worry about that, I'm currently training a temporary replacement,"

Shaking his head, Natasha could of sworn she heard him say under his breath, "Poor kid," before she closed the door, feeling like a weight had lifted off her shoulders.

**April 21st 2014**

**West Coast Avenger's Tower**

**Los Angeles, California**

"Find anything?," Tony's voice floated through the room as Clint stepped out of the elevator.

"No," he answered in a growl, stalking over the the couch where Tony was lounged. He threw his bow and quiver of arrows onto the table before plopping down beside the resident genius. He was so exhausted he could fee it in his bones.

"Well, maybe the rest of the team was right, maybe she did decided to hang up the cape, so to speak," Tony said, fiddling with a piece of his suit in his hands.

Frowning Clint told him, "You don't know Nat, like I do, she wouldn't just disappear like this unless something was wrong,"

Snorting Tony said, "I don't think anyone will ever know Natasha like you, Katniss, but the point is that ship has sailed, she didn't want anything more, get over it and start paying more attention to your wife," he snickered at that last point.

Clint knew Tony was never going to let him live down showing up at the tower with his new bride, only a couple of months after he had left.

"Like your the one to be giving dating advice, your girlfriend says she wants to take a break, and you spiral into a drunken depression and hook up with the first hot young girl that throws herself at you," He spit out with a sneer.

The slight tenseness in his posture was the only clue Clint got as proof that he had struck a nerve, before a wary smile was given, "I'm not saying that I'm the perfect picture for relationships, but at least I didn't marry my rebound girl,'  
"She's not my-,"

"She so is," Tony interrupted, sitting down his piece of armor and picking up his glass, downing a big gulp of his alcohol, "Besides, I didn't just lose my girl, I lost my unborn child to,"

Sighing for both of their misfortune, Clint wondered aloud, "When did life get like this? Everything was going great after we defeated Loki, what happened?,"

"We came out of dreamland and entered the real world," Tony said, and after seeing Clint's confused look continued, "Yes, after we defeated Loki life was great because we were all still basically coming down for an adrenaline high, we had just fought an alien army, it takes time for our human brains to come to terms with stuff like that,"

"So, your saying for us to have a good life we need to have just finished beat a world threatening battle?,"

shrugging Tony answered, "Basically," before letting the rest of his drink slide down his throat.

Rubbing his blue eyes, Clint decided he was to exhausted to continue this conversation that was already giving him a headache. "Where is everyone anyway?," he asked, looking around like someone would jump out at him.

"Decided to let the new recruits try out a mission on their own, don't worry I put your Mockingbird wifey in charge," Tony jabbed.

"Oh I bet Wonderman and Tigra loved that,"

"Love it, hate it, don't matter, they have to learn how to work as a team,"

"Never thought I'd hear that kind of advice come out of your mouth,"

Tony opened his mouth to retort, but a luring voice beat him to it, "Tony, how long are you going to keep tinkering with that piece of metal, I'm getting board,"

When Clint looked up a young woman, who looked to be around nineteen and was only wearing one of Tony's black button up shirts was leaning against the door way leading to the communal kitchen. She was tall, around 5'10" with bluish green eyes and platinum blonde hair.

As she made her way over to them Clint was reminded of a cat stalking it's prey.

Tony stood up and said, "Sorry, time seems to get away from me when I'm working,"

"Well, we'll have to remedy that," She purred, turning around not sparing him a look as, Clint assumed, she made her way to Tony's room.

"Really dude?," Clint asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We all have our grieving process, Pepper's was to dump me and put all her attention into her work, and this is mine," Tony answered, following behind the woman and grabbing another bottle of alcohol.

Not content to sit there by himself, Clint grab his bow and quiver, knowing that shooting always cleared his mind, and made his way down to the shooting range. He just hoped he could get his tired body to cooperate long enough to get his thoughts sorted.


End file.
